U.S. says Indiana is lax on drunken driving, can't spend $40m on roads

4:05 PM,
Jan. 26, 2013

Written by

Maureen Groppe | Gannett Washington Bureau

Federal officials are telling Indiana it can't spend $40.4 million of highway funding to build or repair roads and bridges this year because the state has failed to comply with U.S. mandates to combat drunken driving.

The money, which represents 5 percent of $807 million dollars Indiana receives from Washington for highway and surface transportation programs this year, would instead have to be spent on anti-drunk driving programs or highway safety improvements because Indiana's open container law and its penalty for repeat drunken driving offenders don't pass muster. But Indiana's ...